During dental procedures, the oral cavity is constantly being filled with body fluids, such as saliva. These fluids can also come from water or other fluids being added to a patient's mouth during a dental procedure. The fluids need to be removed because they could cause problems for any dry field dental procedure and are uncomfortable for the patient. The proximity of the oral soft tissues, such as the tongue, cheek and lip, to the field of work make performing a dry field procedure all the more difficult. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide such a field for dental automatically in a device that does not require monitoring or manipulation by the practitioner or the necessity for having another person performing retraction or fluid removal procedures while the practitioner is performing the dental procedure.
There are procedures in dentistry that require a dry field across an entire dental arch. Such procedures include, for example, placement of orthodontic brackets, crown work, bridge work and some fluoride treatments.
Saliva collectors have been used in dental procedures. Such devices generally consist of tubing of various sizes and shapes that are connected at one end to a suction device and open at a single opposite end for evacuation of fluids. Such devices generally are positioned near a saliva duct but do not dry and isolate the entire area of a procedure across the entire dental arch. Such tubular devices can sometime further include tissue shields to restrain soft tissue movement in the field of work and they generally pass over the teeth. However, such devices tend to dry only a local area or require human intervention to constantly move such devices to drain more of the mouth. Thus, such devices are uncomfortable for the patient and are inconvenient for the practitioner because of the need to pay attention and move such devices requires time from the practitioner or the constant presence of an assistant. Thus, there is a need in the art to have a device that removes saliva across a wider field automatically without requiring time or attention from the practitioner or an assistant.
Some solutions have involved molding the mouth end (as opposed to the end connected to a vacuum line) of a tubular device to have broader surface area with multiple inlets. Such devices often resemble a flat lollipop-like end on a tube that also have some tongue retraction capabilities but take up a lot of space in a crowded field. Another such device is a hollow tube with two side fins for retracting soft tissue described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,426 and one with only one side fin that resembles a golf iron head described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,837. In addition, U.S. Patent describes a vacuum head having a valve to prevent backflow when the suction is turned on and off. However, such devices all require constant manipulation by the practitioner or an assistant and are not automatic devices.
Tongue retractors and cheek/lip retractors are also available and generally available and serve their function as separate and discrete items that remain stationary and allow the practitioner to perform the procedure. However such devices still require the use of a separate saliva ejector that needs attention and periodic adjustment.